North Korea sends more than 100 balloons filled with feces and trash to South Korea

Pyongyang announced this operation in response to the dropping on its territory of propaganda leaflets sent by South Korean activists.

After the missile launches, bags filled with trash were sent. North Korea has sent more than 150 balloons carrying waste and toilet paper to its southern neighbor, the South Korean Defense Ministry reported on Wednesday (May 29). The authorities released several photos, widely reported by the media, showing trash bags on the ground. They were discovered near the demilitarized zone separating the two countries at war, but also in the capital Seoul and as far as the southern province of South Gyeongsangspecifies the daily The Korea Herald.

“According to testimonies, given the ‘distinctive odor’ that emanated from the bag, it is likely that they also sent feces, probably animal feces”Cheong Seong-chang, political scientist at the Sejong Institute, told AFP. “Unidentified objects, believed to be North Korean propaganda leaflets, have been spotted in the Gyeonggi-Gangwon border area and the military is implementing measures”for its part declared the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff, asking the population to stay away from these bags and report them to the authorities.

Pyongyang’s actions “clearly violate international laws and seriously threaten the security of our people”denounced the Joint Staff. “We call on the North to immediately stop its low-level actions (…)”he added.

The operation was confirmed by Kim Yo-jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and one of his regime’s main spokespeople. A “large quantity of waste paper and garbage” has been “dispersed at the border and in deep areas” of South Korea, starting late Tuesday, she admitted in a statement to the North Korean news agency KNCA. “We tried something they’ve always done, but I don’t understand why they’re making such a fuss like they’ve been hit by a hail of bullets.”she mocked.

South Korean activists sometimes release balloons carrying propaganda leaflets against North Korean power and money intended for residents. On Sunday, the North Korean vice minister of defense promised to respond to these mailings, reports the Guardian. He warned that “mounds of waste and rubbish would soon be scattered across the border areas and in the interior” of South Korea, so that it “notices herself the effort required to clean them”.